I’m almost embarrassed to admit that my family has not yet made the trip to Glacier National Park. I know – it’s a travesty, right? Here’s hoping that we get a chance to visit before the end of the year. I’m putting on my to-do list right now.

In the meantime, here’s a heartwarming news release from the Udall Foundation, which is sponsoring a trip to Glacier for 12 young people from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Missoula as part of the Stewart L. Udall Parks in Focus program.

- MM

First Ever Stewart L. Udall Parks in Focus Trip in Montana

There will be a change of scenery for 12 Montana youth as they go on a camping trip to Glacier National Park – a first for many of them. The students, who will be armed with digital cameras, are participating in the Stewart L. Udall Parks in Focus program, which gives young environmental leaders (Udall scholarship alumni) the opportunity to pass their knowledge to children who might never have seen a national park or spent time exploring a wilderness area.

Parks in Focus connects underserved youth to nature through the art of photography by introducing local Boys & Girls Club members to some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the country. The Udall Foundation not only provides digital cameras to the young participants to use and keep, but also trains trip leaders to execute active, week-long, learning-intensive outings that explore national parks, wildlife refuges, and other public lands.

The trip will take a total of 12 underserved youth from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Missoula to Glacier National Park from July 26-30. This is the eleventh year that the Udall Foundation has hosted a Parks in Focus trip, but the first time it has run a trip in Montana.

The Udall Foundation trip leaders are Katie Pritchard, Udall Scholar 2007, Rebecca Guiao, Udall Scholar 2007 and 2008, Marcos Orozco, Udall Scholar 2003 and 2004, and Bret Muter, Udall Scholar 2005. The participants also will be accompanied by representatives from the Boys & Girls Clubs.

This trip is being conducted in partnership with Glacier National Park and is made possible in part by a grant from the National Park Foundation through the generous support Unilever.

The Udall Foundation was created initially to honor the legacy of the late Morris Udall, who represented Southern Arizona in the U.S. House of Representatives for 30 years. The late Stewart Udall, who also represented Southern Arizona in Congress from 1955 to 1961, was Morris Udall’s older brother. The two brothers were leaders in many policy areas, including natural resources and the environment and Native American issues. They worked together on many initiatives while Stewart Udall was Secretary of the Interior and Morris Udall a member of Congress. In 2009, Congress enacted legislation to honor Stewart Udall through the foundation, renaming it the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation.

The Udall Foundation carries on their legacies through a number of programs, among them, education programs designed to foster a passion and commitment for the nation’s natural resources in the next generation. Stewart L. Udall Parks in Focus is one such program; it speaks directly to the first objective of the Foundation’s enabling legislation: “To increase the awareness of the importance of, and promote the benefit and enjoyment of, the nation’s natural resources.” The program began in Arizona with the Tucson Boys & Girls Clubs but has since expanded to support trips with Boys & Girls Clubs in California, Georgia, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, and Washington. Since the program’s inception, approximately 300 youth have completed the Parks in Focus program.

For additional information, contact Libby Washburn at 505.332.9079 or washburn@udall.gov.